Smolderhelm - The Animated Armor
It does not speak. It does not rest. But when the black flames ignite and the ground begins to sear beneath its feet, the old legends return — of a knight that burns but never dies.
Role in Its Society:
Smolderhelm is no simple animated shell — it is a forged warden, a product of war-era desperation when dying arcanists poured their essence into constructs to guard their doomed citadels. Today, it stands sentinel at a crumbling fortress in the Vastwyn Valley, charred banners still hanging in silent testament to a forgotten oath.
To nearby villagers, Smolderhelm is a myth of vengeance and warning: the black knight that stalks ruined roads when the wind howls too loud. Some treasure hunters whisper of a cursed soul bound inside, still searching for its final command.
Though created for defense, Smolderhelm now targets all who bear weapons or magic, seeing them as combatants in an endless siege it still believes rages on.
Appearance Description:
Smolderhelm towers over ordinary warriors — a fully enclosed suit of blackened plate armor scorched with glowing orange fissures, as though magma pulses beneath the surface. Its helm is featureless save for a molten slit of light. When roused, embers fall from its joints, and the very stone beneath its feet may blister.
Its shield bears no crest — just deep gouges and runes of warding that thrum with trapped energy. A constant, low hum follows it, like a forge on the edge of reignition.
Backstory:
Forged during the Siege of Vyrrhold, Smolderhelm was a last-ditch effort by a dying battlemage to anchor their soul within an indestructible guardian. The ritual succeeded — but imperfectly. The soul, unmoored from its memories, now clings only to purpose: defend the last command post. Protect the banner. Let none pass.
It has stood since, resisting entropy itself, fueled by the residual binding flame within. The fortress around it is in ruins — but Smolderhelm remains, a remnant of a war the world forgot.
